1. Firoozeh's father: "It's not what we eat or don't eat that makes us good people; it's how we treat one another. As you grow older, you'll find that people of every religion think they're the best, but that's not true. There are good and bad people in every religion. Just because someone is Muslim, Jewish, or Christian doesn't mean a thing. You have to look and see what's in their hearts. That's the only thing that matters, and that's the only detail God cares about" (85).
2. "Throughout his job ordeal, my father never complained. He remained an Iranian who loved his native country but who also believed in American ideals. He only said how sad it was that people so easily hate on an entire population simply because of the actions of a few. And what a waste it is to hate, he always said. What a waste" (121).
3. "The manager of the restaurant was a large Indian man with an overhanging stomach. The big tummy worked on Buddha but not on this guy. To add to his appeal, the whites of his eyes were manently bloodshot. This man could have easily been in Star Wars" (151). A plus for mentioning SW. :)
4. "My parents are highly evolved worriers. My mother once called me in the middle of the day to make sure I wear shoes when cleaning the attic because she had just heard about a woman who, while cleaning her attic barefoot, was bitten by a rare brown slider whose venom cut off the circulation to her extremities. Consequently, the woman's nose fell off. It was pointless for me to remind my mother that I do not have an attic" (155).
5. "Watching this jovial group, I found myself overcome with sadness. I couldn't help but think of all the Iranian women who had paid to have their noses broken and reshaped just so someone might find them worthy of love. I thought of all the little girls I had known who had learned to cringe at their own reflections. I remembered how much I admired Jane Fonda's nose when I was in fourth grade in Tehran, and how much I hated my own. Thinking of all that wasted energy, I wanted to scream and tell my fellow countrymen and countrywomen that a nose by any other name is just a nose. It does not hold a soul, for no matter how big our noses may be, our souls are far, far bigger" (165-166).
6. "Swimsuit competitions go against everything that is right and decent in this world. We're told that beauty is on the inside and that who we are matters far more than what we look like. But could you please just put on this bikini and walk around in high heels so I can judge your inner beauty? I don't know which was worse, to be a contestant or a judge. I wanted to stand up in the table and tell the girls to take off their high heels and hurl them at the organizers of this event, demanding that the pageant be replaced by a spelling bee. Instead, I just sat there and prayed for the end" (177).
